The invention relates to hand held implements such as a tools, instruments or utensils. The invention particularly relates to eating utensils, toothbrushes, paintbrushes, or other hand held implements.
Many hand held implements are comprised of elongated bodies which must be set down in a horizontal orientation on a supporting surface, absent a separate holder or rack for supporting the implement in a vertical orientation. In such a horizontal orientation, the working end of the implement can come into contact with the surface. Such contact can result in an unsanitary condition on the working end, such as in the case of a toothbrush or a spoon, or in a contamination or soiling of the surface by the working end, such as in the case of a paintbrush.
The present invention recognizes that it would be desirable to provide an implement which overcame these drawbacks.
As most parents know, teaching young children to feed themselves with an eating utensil, typically a spoon, can be a difficult and frustrating challenge. This is particularly true of children less than two years old, who are in the process of developing eye-hand coordination. Picking up a spoon in a conventional way adds to this difficulty.
As in the case of eating utensils, it is also difficult for young children to pick up horizontally positioned art implements, such as paintbrushes, markers and other art related implements.
The present invention recognizes that these difficulties in picking up elongated implements, although typically experienced by young children, may also be experienced by the elderly or handicapped persons, or by persons working in demanding, hostile or close quarters environments or by persons otherwise preoccupied with other tasks. The present invention recognizes the desirability of providing an implement that helped to overcome these difficulties.
The invention provides a self-standing, hand held implement that, when set down on a supporting surface, automatically assumes a vertical, standing orientation, holding a working end portion of the implement above and clear of the supporting surface. The hand held implement of the invention includes a rounded and weighted base end which assists in rotatably righting the implement if it is set down or knocked toward a horizontal orientation.
The present invention is adaptable to many types of hand held implements such as eating or serving utensils; tools; hand tools such as screwdrivers; flashlights; toothbrushes; paintbrushes; fine work tools such as for jewelry, electronics, assembly, and model making work; writing instruments; markers; art implements; medical and dental instruments; beauty implements such as makeup brushes, makeup applicators, and grooming tools; and other hand held implements.
The implement of the invention automatically assumes a vertical orientation on a support surface which helps to prevent the working end portion from contaminating, or being contaminated by, the support surface. As examples, this could be an important advantage for a paintbrush to prevent dabbing paint from the brush head onto the support surface, or for a toothbrush or a medical or dental instrument to prevent contamination of the brush head or the instrument head by contact with the support surface. The implement assumes a vertical orientation which is more readily found and gripped by a user. This is important where the user is a small child, elderly or handicapped person, or the user is working under hostile, close quarters or demanding conditions, such as a mechanic working beneath an automobile, or a medical or dental practitioner who is otherwise preoccupied with other tasks during a medical or dental operation, or by a person wearing gloves.
The present invention is particularly useful for implements used by young children. For example, in a first illustrated embodiment of the present invention, an eating utensil is provided which assists young children in learning to feed themselves.
The eating utensil is capable of automatic re-orientation into an upright orientation when placed upon a horizontal surface. The eating utensil includes a weighted base having a substantially rounded and convex exterior, and which is adapted to support the eating utensil from the horizontal surface. The eating utensil includes a working end portion in the form of a head for holding food. The eating utensil includes a handle extending between the base and the head. The handle can be fixedly connected to, or formed integrally with, the base and the head. The handle can have an exterior with a maximum diameter adjacent to the base and a minimum diameter adjacent to the head. The exterior of the handle is preferably shaped to taper from the maximum diameter to the minimum diameter.
Since the eating utensil of the invention will automatically orient itself in an upright position because of its shape and weighted base, regardless of its original position, a child can simply reach out with one hand and grasp the handle without having to twist or bend his or her wrist. The present invention utensil makes use of the eating utensil very easy to thereby assist the child in self-feeding, particularly as a first stage in learning this task. Moreover, in orientating itself into the upright position from some other original position, the eating utensil will inherently tend to xe2x80x9cwobblexe2x80x9d back and forth. This movement attracts the attention of the young child and further assists in motivating the child to use the eating utensil in feeding himself or herself.
In a second illustrated embodiment of the invention configured as a toothbrush, the toothbrush includes a brush head, as the working end portion, an elongated handle and a weighted base. The weighted base, as in the case of the eating utensil, is substantially rounded and convex. After a child or adult has used a toothbrush, merely placing the toothbrush down onto a supporting surface, such as a bathroom countertop, will cause the toothbrush to automatically right itself to a vertical position. This minimizes countertop space otherwise occupied by a horizontally oriented toothbrush, and also furthers a sanitary need to maintain the brush head away from the sink countertop where some standing water or other undesirable condition can contaminate the brush head.
In a third illustrated embodiment of the invention configured as a paintbrush, the paintbrush includes a brush head, as the working end portion, connected by an elongated handle to a weighted base. As with the prior two embodiments, the weighted base is substantially rounded and convex. In use, after a paintbrush has been dipped into paint, that is, a supply of paint is applied to the brush head, the brush can be set down without fear that the brush head will contaminate the supporting surface. The weighted base acts to automatically right the paintbrush into a vertical orientation.
Although a limited number of embodiments are described, it is clear that the principle of the invention applied to implements of various types renders those implements more useful, more sanitary, and less likely to contaminate or soil surrounding surfaces.
It is also foreseen that the overall shape of the implement, especially the relatively large rounded base, and weight distribution of the implement of the invention achieve an improved handling of the implement during use, especially when fit into the small hand of a child.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.